California — 1980 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1980 presidential electionCalifornia · PresidentReaganR+16.8
How it voted
Share of the 1980 vote
| Ronald Reagan ✓Republican | 52.7% | 4,524,858 |
|---|---|---|
| Jimmy CarterDemocratic | 35.9% | 3,083,641 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 11.4% | 977,302 |
1980presidential margin
D+60R+60
58 counties, each filled by 1980 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
California cast 45 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (58 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Alameda County, CA | Democratic | D+10.3 |
| Alpine County, CA | Republican | R+26.2 |
| Amador County, CA | Republican | R+22.9 |
| Butte County, CA | Republican | R+28.3 |
| Calaveras County, CA | Republican | R+29.0 |
| Colusa County, CA | Republican | R+25.9 |
| Contra Costa County, CA | Republican | R+12.8 |
| Del Norte County, CA | Republican | R+24.0 |
| El Dorado County, CA | Republican | R+28.7 |
| Fresno County, CA | Republican | R+10.7 |
| Glenn County, CA | Republican | R+38.0 |
| Humboldt County, CA | Republican | R+14.2 |
| Imperial County, CA | Republican | R+19.0 |
| Inyo County, CA | Republican | R+38.9 |
| Kern County, CA | Republican | R+26.0 |
| Kings County, CA | Republican | R+17.0 |
| Lake County, CA | Republican | R+17.7 |
| Lassen County, CA | Republican | R+18.6 |
| Los Angeles County, CA | Republican | R+10.0 |
| Madera County, CA | Republican | R+14.2 |
| Marin County, CA | Republican | R+9.6 |
| Mariposa County, CA | Republican | R+21.3 |
| Mendocino County, CA | Republican | R+5.8 |
| Merced County, CA | Republican | R+5.8 |
| Modoc County, CA | Republican | R+38.3 |
| Mono County, CA | Republican | R+37.0 |
| Monterey County, CA | Republican | R+21.2 |
| Napa County, CA | Republican | R+19.8 |
| Nevada County, CA | Republican | R+28.9 |
| Orange County, CA | Republican | R+45.3 |
| Placer County, CA | Republican | R+21.1 |
| Plumas County, CA | Republican | R+15.6 |
| Riverside County, CA | Republican | R+28.4 |
| Sacramento County, CA | Republican | R+7.4 |
| San Benito County, CA | Republican | R+17.2 |
| San Bernardino County, CA | Republican | R+28.0 |
| San Diego County, CA | Republican | R+33.5 |
| San Francisco County, CA | Democratic | D+20.6 |
| San Joaquin County, CA | Republican | R+19.8 |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | Republican | R+26.1 |
| San Mateo County, CA | Republican | R+12.2 |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | Republican | R+22.5 |
| Santa Clara County, CA | Republican | R+13.0 |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | Republican | R+5.8 |
| Shasta County, CA | Republican | R+25.7 |
| Sierra County, CA | Republican | R+11.9 |
| Siskiyou County, CA | Republican | R+21.9 |
| Solano County, CA | Republican | R+12.4 |
| Sonoma County, CA | Republican | R+12.0 |
| Stanislaus County, CA | Republican | R+9.4 |
| Sutter County, CA | Republican | R+36.0 |
| Tehama County, CA | Republican | R+27.9 |
| Trinity County, CA | Republican | R+23.7 |
| Tulare County, CA | Republican | R+22.8 |
| Tuolumne County, CA | Republican | R+20.9 |
| Ventura County, CA | Republican | R+30.7 |
| Yolo County, CA | Democratic | D+3.9 |
| Yuba County, CA | Republican | R+21.6 |
California results by county
58 counties. Third-party and independent votes are reported by the county source as one combined figure; every named candidate is listed in the complete result below.
| Led by | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County | Jimmy Carter+43,189 | 158,53138.0% | 201,72048.3% | 57,36613.7% | 417,617 |
| Alpine County | Ronald Reagan+121 | 25455.1% | 13328.9% | 7416.1% | 461 |
| Amador County | Ronald Reagan+2,210 | 5,40155.9% | 3,19133.0% | 1,07811.1% | 9,670 |
| Butte County | Ronald Reagan+18,668 | 38,18857.9% | 19,52029.6% | 8,30412.6% | 66,012 |
| Calaveras County | Ronald Reagan+2,978 | 6,05458.9% | 3,07629.9% | 1,14511.1% | 10,275 |
| Colusa County | Ronald Reagan+1,292 | 2,89758.0% | 1,60532.1% | 4939.9% | 4,995 |
| Contra Costa County | Ronald Reagan+36,714 | 144,11250.1% | 107,39837.3% | 36,03512.5% | 287,545 |
| Del Norte County | Ronald Reagan+1,678 | 4,01657.5% | 2,33833.5% | 6339.1% | 6,987 |
| El Dorado County | Ronald Reagan+10,473 | 21,23858.3% | 10,76529.5% | 4,44612.2% | 36,449 |
| Fresno County | Ronald Reagan+17,261 | 82,51551.1% | 65,25440.4% | 13,6178.4% | 161,386 |
| Glenn County | Ronald Reagan+3,159 | 5,38664.8% | 2,22726.8% | 6998.4% | 8,312 |
| Humboldt County | Ronald Reagan+6,934 | 24,04749.4% | 17,11335.1% | 7,53215.5% | 48,692 |
| Imperial County | Ronald Reagan+4,107 | 12,06855.9% | 7,96136.9% | 1,5507.2% | 21,579 |
| Inyo County | Ronald Reagan+3,121 | 5,20164.8% | 2,08025.9% | 7469.3% | 8,027 |
| Kern County | Ronald Reagan+31,745 | 72,84259.6% | 41,09733.7% | 8,1826.7% | 122,121 |
| Kings County | Ronald Reagan+3,232 | 10,53155.4% | 7,29938.4% | 1,1916.3% | 19,021 |
| Lake County | Ronald Reagan+2,956 | 8,93453.6% | 5,97835.9% | 1,74210.5% | 16,654 |
| Lassen County | Ronald Reagan+1,523 | 4,46454.5% | 2,94135.9% | 7939.7% | 8,198 |
| Los Angeles County | Ronald Reagan+244,703 | 1,224,53350.2% | 979,83040.2% | 235,8229.7% | 2,440,185 |
| Madera County | Ronald Reagan+2,816 | 10,59953.6% | 7,78339.3% | 1,3987.1% | 19,780 |
| Marin County | Ronald Reagan+10,447 | 49,67845.8% | 39,23136.2% | 19,59818.1% | 108,507 |
| Mariposa County | Ronald Reagan+1,193 | 3,08255.0% | 1,88933.7% | 63711.4% | 5,608 |
| Mendocino County | Ronald Reagan+1,648 | 12,43244.0% | 10,78438.2% | 5,00817.7% | 28,224 |
| Merced County | Ronald Reagan+2,157 | 18,04348.8% | 15,88642.9% | 3,0678.3% | 36,996 |
| Modoc County | Ronald Reagan+1,533 | 2,57964.5% | 1,04626.2% | 3759.4% | 4,000 |
| Mono County | Ronald Reagan+1,267 | 2,13262.3% | 86525.3% | 42412.4% | 3,421 |
| Monterey County | Ronald Reagan+18,366 | 47,45254.7% | 29,08633.5% | 10,25611.8% | 86,794 |
| Napa County | Ronald Reagan+8,734 | 23,63253.7% | 14,89833.8% | 5,50512.5% | 44,035 |
| Nevada County | Ronald Reagan+7,602 | 15,20757.9% | 7,60529.0% | 3,44913.1% | 26,261 |
| Orange County | Ronald Reagan+353,093 | 529,79767.9% | 176,70422.6% | 73,7119.4% | 780,212 |
| Placer County | Ronald Reagan+10,868 | 28,17954.8% | 17,31133.7% | 5,95011.6% | 51,440 |
| Plumas County | Ronald Reagan+1,271 | 4,18251.2% | 2,91135.7% | 1,06813.1% | 8,161 |
| Riverside County | Ronald Reagan+68,992 | 145,64259.9% | 76,65031.5% | 20,9868.6% | 243,278 |
| Sacramento County | Ronald Reagan+23,690 | 153,72147.7% | 130,03140.4% | 38,36811.9% | 322,120 |
| San Benito County | Ronald Reagan+1,305 | 4,05453.3% | 2,74936.2% | 79910.5% | 7,602 |
| San Bernardino County | Ronald Reagan+81,167 | 172,95759.7% | 91,79031.7% | 25,0658.6% | 289,812 |
| San Diego County | Ronald Reagan+240,500 | 435,91060.8% | 195,41027.3% | 85,54611.9% | 716,866 |
| San Francisco County | Jimmy Carter+52,217 | 80,96731.9% | 133,18452.4% | 39,87715.7% | 254,028 |
| San Joaquin County | Ronald Reagan+23,167 | 64,71855.4% | 41,55135.6% | 10,5949.1% | 116,863 |
| San Luis Obispo County | Ronald Reagan+18,123 | 38,63155.6% | 20,50829.5% | 10,38814.9% | 69,527 |
| San Mateo County | Ronald Reagan+29,156 | 116,49148.8% | 87,33536.6% | 34,81114.6% | 238,637 |
| Santa Barbara County | Ronald Reagan+28,979 | 69,62954.0% | 40,65031.5% | 18,71614.5% | 128,995 |
| Santa Clara County | Ronald Reagan+62,053 | 229,04848.0% | 166,99535.0% | 80,96017.0% | 477,003 |
| Santa Cruz County | Ronald Reagan+5,001 | 37,34743.5% | 32,34637.7% | 16,11118.8% | 85,804 |
| Shasta County | Ronald Reagan+12,183 | 27,54758.1% | 15,36432.4% | 4,5079.5% | 47,418 |
| Sierra County | Ronald Reagan+204 | 85549.8% | 65137.9% | 21212.3% | 1,718 |
| Siskiyou County | Ronald Reagan+3,667 | 9,33155.7% | 5,66433.8% | 1,74310.4% | 16,738 |
| Solano County | Ronald Reagan+9,967 | 40,91950.7% | 30,95238.4% | 8,80510.9% | 80,676 |
| Sonoma County | Ronald Reagan+15,126 | 60,72248.2% | 45,59636.2% | 19,66715.6% | 125,985 |
| Stanislaus County | Ronald Reagan+7,912 | 41,59549.4% | 33,68340.0% | 8,90810.6% | 84,186 |
| Sutter County | Ronald Reagan+6,675 | 11,77863.5% | 5,10327.5% | 1,6769.0% | 18,557 |
| Tehama County | Ronald Reagan+4,308 | 9,14059.1% | 4,83231.3% | 1,4859.6% | 15,457 |
| Trinity County | Ronald Reagan+1,314 | 3,04855.0% | 1,73431.3% | 76413.8% | 5,546 |
| Tulare County | Ronald Reagan+16,162 | 41,31758.3% | 25,15535.5% | 4,3746.2% | 70,846 |
| Tuolumne County | Ronald Reagan+3,361 | 8,81054.8% | 5,44933.9% | 1,80411.2% | 16,063 |
| Ventura County | Ronald Reagan+58,619 | 114,93060.3% | 56,31129.5% | 19,40910.2% | 190,650 |
| Yolo County | Jimmy Carter+1,924 | 19,60339.5% | 21,52743.3% | 8,56017.2% | 49,690 |
| Yuba County | Ronald Reagan+3,046 | 7,94256.3% | 4,89634.7% | 1,2739.0% | 14,111 |
Nominees: Jimmy Carter (D) · Ronald Reagan (R)
California's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1980 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | +1.2% |
| 1896 | −0.6% |
| 1900 | −13.1% |
| 1904 | −34.9% |
| 1908 | −22.5% |
| 1912 | +41.8% |
| 1916 | +0.4% |
| 1920 | −41.9% |
| 1924 | −49.0% |
| 1928 | −30.5% |
| 1932 | +21.0% |
| 1936 | +35.3% |
| 1940 | +16.1% |
| 1944 | +13.5% |
| 1948 | +0.4% |
| 1952 | −13.6% |
| 1956 | −11.1% |
| 1960 | −0.5% |
| 1964 | +18.3% |
| 1968 | −3.1% |
| 1972 | −13.5% |
| 1976 | −1.8% |
| 1980 | −16.8% |
| 1984 | −16.2% |
| 1988 | −3.6% |
| 1992 | +13.4% |
| 1996 | +12.9% |
| 2000 | +11.8% |
| 2004 | +9.9% |
| 2008 | +24.0% |
| 2012 | +23.1% |
| 2016 | +30.0% |
| 2020 | +29.1% |
| 2024 | +20.1% |
Same ballot, 1980CA
Source. MIT Election Data + Science Lab — 1980 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.